A Politician's Wife
by elsiecarson
Summary: BASED ON THE DISH. Maizie is home alone because Bob is in Sydney. When he comes home unexpectedly you see how close their relationship is. She happens to be up when Bob comes into the house.
1. I'm Home

Maizie ties her robe around her waist. She's alone again. Her husband, Bob, is in parliament in Sydney. She sighs. It's tough for her to be away from her husband. She knows it's important for him to be at the parliament, but she misses him greatly. She begins to make herself a cup of tea and grabs an apple from the fridge. She hears the kettle boil behind her and she pours the hot water over her Earl Grey tea bag. She hears keys being jingled and placed in the front door lock. Maizie hopes it isn't her daughter, Marie, coming in late again. That's been happening much more frequently since Bob went to Sydney. She hears a thump in the front hall and goes to investigate. There stands Bob looking tired and dishevelled. He's clearly just put his suitcase down. "Bob!" Maizie cries in amazement. "You weren't supposed to be home until this weekend." She hugs him tightly when she reaches him. They're a very demonstrative couple.

"I presented my bill to parliament and I decided to come home early. I missed you. They'll inform me if my bill passes." Bob says as he sinks onto the stairs.

"Sweetheart, you look exhausted. Why don't we go up to bed? I haven't been sleeping well either. I'll write Billy and Marie a note to let them know they'll have to fend for themselves for breakfast." Maizie says as she picks up a notepad and a pen and scrawls a short note to her kids.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. I'm exhausted physically and mentally." Bob says as he picks up his suitcase and begins to climb the stairs.

Maizie follows Bob up the stairs and down the hall to their bedroom. Bob drops his bag on the floor and then goes into the closet and pulls out a fresh pair of pyjamas. He changes slowly and drops his clothes on the bench at the end of the bed. He gets into bed just in time to see Maizie drop her robe and climb into bed next to him. Her body is warm against his and as they settle into the duvet Bob puts his arm around Maizie's waist. Maizie cuddles against Bob's strong chest. She's happy.


	2. Domesticity

Bob wakes up with Maizie still in his arms. He smiles and kisses the back of her head. He's trying not to wake her up. What he doesn't know is that Maizie is already awake. When Maizie feels his kiss she rolls over in his arms and kisses his lips.

"I'm glad you're home. It's so nice to sleep in your arms again." Maizie says as she leans her head on Bob's chest.

"I'm not going to go in to work today. I'm going to stay here with you. Are the kids still here?" Bob asks quietly. He strokes her blond hair.

"It's 10:30 on a weekday in April. They're both in school until 3:00." Maizie says quietly. "Why do you ask?"

"Because now I can make love to my beautiful wife without my children finding out or catching us. I've been away from you for too long." Bob says running his fingers through her hair.

"Are you sure you've had enough sleep? Why don't I make us some breakfast first?" Maizie asks as she feels Bob's hand on her bum.

"I should probably eat first, but promise me we'll come back up here later." Bob says as he kisses Maizie.

"Of course we will. What do you want for breakfast?" Maizie asks as she climbs out of bed and slips her purple robe on.

"Can we do omelettes and hashbrowns? I've been craving a good, home-cooked meal since I went to Sydney." Bob says tying his robe around his waist.

"Of course we can. What would you like in your omelette? I'm not picky about my omelettes." Maizie says as she walks down the stairs and into the kitchen where she notices her cold tea sitting on the counter. "Rats, I forgot that I'd made myself a cup of tea." Maizie pours the cold liquid down the drain and rinses the cup.

"Can we put bacon, onion, cheese, and peppers in our omelettes?" Bob asks as he looks in the fridge.

"Of course we can. Should we add ham to that, too?" Maizie asks as she pulls the ingredients out to begin cooking. There's always lots of food in the house.

"That would be yummy. Shall I season the hashbrowns for you and squeeze some fresh orange juice?" Bob asks watching Maizie whisk eggs, milk, salt, and pepper together.

"That would be great. I have to fry the bacon and the onions before I add the egg mixture." Maizie says as she puts the bacon into a cold frypan.

"I do know how to make an omelette, despite the fact that I hardly ever cook at home." Bob says honestly. "I think I'll make a fruit salad, too."

Maizie doesn't say anything but smiles at her husband. She soon has two omelettes and two servings of hashbrowns turned out for them. Bob has a pitcher of orange juice and a lovely fresh fruit salad. Bob sinks into a chair at the kitchen table and watches Maizie make tea. She's so beautiful and Bob knows he's lucky to have her in his life. She doesn't have to be dressed or have her hair done perfectly and she's still stunning. He reaches across the table when she sits down to touch her face gently. He doesn't take the time often enough to just watch her. He's been away for so long and he takes the time now to really see her. Maizie tilts her head as she watches Bob. He seems so serious and that's not his usual look. His hand is sitting on the tabletop and she quickly reaches over to cover it with her own. She doesn't need to speak to show him how she's feeling. Bob gives her hand a squeeze and smiles at her across the table. He makes her feel so loved.

"You're so beautiful Maizie. I don't tell you often enough, but you really are." Bob says very seriously.

"Is everything alright, Bob? You're very serious today. You're worrying me." Maizie stands up and comes over and sits on Bob's lap.

"I'm alright, love. I just realized with the amount I've been away recently that I haven't been telling you how much I love you as often." Bob says sadly.

"That doesn't mean I don't know. You don't have tell me with words. Your actions speak volumes about you. They always have. I know what you want to say without you having to say a word. Words don't always convey everything we mean or feel anyway. I think we underestimate the importance of non-verbal communication a great deal." Maizie slips her arm around Bob's shoulders and leans down to kiss him.

"Non-verbal communication is a great deal more fun." Bob says when they pull away from the kiss.

"Cheeky, it's a very good thing I'm in a good mood though. You can be cheeky all you like today. I'm just glad you're home with me again. You've been away too long. The kids and I have missed you." Maizie leans her head on her husband's shoulder.

"Oh, the kids." Bob sounds almost sad that Maizie brought them up. The moment was perfect until then. "Did Marie and Billy behave while I was in Sydney?"

"Billy always does. He respects you too much to not do as you ask. I don't what's happening with Marie. I don't even ask anymore. It's more than my life's worth to ask anything of her. She's changed so much. I don't even know her anymore. It's a good thing I caught her before she left the house a couple of days ago. You should have seen what she was wearing! Everything was short, tight, and low cut! Then she had the nerve to yell at me about taking away her freedom of expression! I don't think that was what politicians had in mind when they put that clause in the constitution! She doesn't realize I'm trying to protect her and it seems like she doesn't want my protection either." Maizie instantly gets agitated when she talks about Marie, their trouble child of the two at the moment. Marie and Maizie are constantly fighting with each other.

"Don't worry about Marie, Maizie. She'll come around soon enough. She's just going through her rebellious phase like we both did. Marie's just too smart for her own good and she's not happy with what she sees in the world. I can't say I blame her, but she is taking her feminist sensibilities a bit too far. She'll figure out her life soon enough. Of course she doesn't want your protection. She's sixteen and she thinks she's going to rule the world and live forever. She'll learn soon enough that that's not true at all. Think about when you were a teenager. I'm sure you were similar to Marie except for the feminist part. All girls rebel the same way and we just need to wait her out." Bob says gently. He knows that Maizie and Marie butt heads all the time.

"When did you become the authority on how to deal with our teenage daughter? You always avoided dealing with Marie in the past." Maizie asks teasingly.

"I don't know. I just remember what my mother used to say to my father about me and my sister. My mother always wanted us to be successful and I remember what she said about giving us freedom and boundaries and how that was always tough. We need to remember that we want our children to turn out to be independent people and Marie is well on her way." Bob watches as Maizie walks around the table and sits on Bob's knee. Maizie sighs in Bob's ear as he wraps his arms around her waist.

"It's good to have you home. I missed being able to talk to a rational person while you were away." Maizie says kissing Bob's cheek.

"I thought Cliff was going to drop by a couple of times a week to help out." Bob says with confusion written all over his face.

"He was, but things at the disk got very busy and I didn't want to interrupt. He doesn't need a lonely housewife waiting around for him all the time." Maizie explains.


End file.
